Belt-fastening machines



July 19, 1966 G. c. HOBSON BELT-FASTENING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 30, 1965 Inventor W @lMw-u, M

y 5 2 Q 1 a 14254. M Zltm'neyf,

July 19, 1966 G. c. HOBSON BELT-FASTENING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 30, 1965 Inventor fi u m M12231. homo-WM Attorneys July 19, 1966 G. c. HOBSON BELT-FASTENING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 30. 1965 United States Patent 3,261,085 BELT-FASTENING MACHINES George C. Hohson, Sheffield, England, assignor to Hayden-Niles Limited Fiied Mar. 30, 1965, Ser. No. 443,933 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Apr. 4, 1964, 13,973/ 64 6 Claims. (Cl. Z9-243.51)

This invention relates to belt-fastening machines of the type for applying to the end of a conveyor belt a joint-half consisting of U-shaped elements or clamps with corresponding pairs of holes in both limbs of each clamp and spaced in the lengthwise direction of the limbs, and wire staples with pointed legs to pass through one pair of holes, the thickness of a belt interposed between the limbs, and the other pair of holes, until the base of each staple bears on the outside of one limb of the clamp and the points of the legs can be bent to the omtside of the other limb of the clamp. Two belt-ends each provided with such a joint-half can then be linked together by intermeshing the bases of their respective U-shaped clamps and inserting a hinge element through the intermeshed bases.

According to the present invention, a belt-fastening machine for making a joint-half of the type referred to comprises a base, a check along the front of the base and presenting an upper face that along half its length is recessed lengthwise to provide point-bending surfaces and along the remaining half of its length is plain, upright guiding means upstanding from the rear of the base, a slide block mounted for vertical movement on the guiding means and overhanging the check, the slide block having a slot through its thickness and extending in the lengthwise direction of the cheek and aligned with the recessed part of the check, there being registering pairs of vertical grooves in the lengthwise walls of the slot over the length corresponding to the recessed part of the cheek, to receive the downwardly pointed legs of U-shaped wire staples of a width to bridge the slot, a comb-bar disposedly rearwardly of the cheek, with a vertically slotted front face to receive the base of U-shaped clamps to be laid with one limb resting across the cheek, and a pressing member of a width to fit the slot for the forcing of the pointed legs of staples bridging the slot through the pairs of holes in the limbs of the clamps and a belt interposed between those limbs.

The slide block may be raised to facilitate the insettion of clamp bases into the comb-bar, and then lowered until it rests on the upper limbs of the clamps, which limbs rest in turn on the upper face of an interposed belt. Operation of the pressing member then drives staples from the slot and causes the pointed ends of their legs to be bent by engagement with the recessed face of the cheek when they emerge from the holes in the lower limbs of the clamps. The surfaces of the recessed face may either turn the points of each pair towards each other, or turn both in the same direction.

The machine is then moved along the belt-edge by the distance occupied by the fasteners now inserted, and a fresh charge of staples and clamps is similarly applied to the belt alongside the already inserted charge. That already inserted charge may then be compressed tightly to the belt by pressure applied, either by the same pressing member or by another pressing member, through the plain half-length of the slot, the previously bent points now resting on the plain half-length face of the cheek.

Preferably, for the driving of the hooks, the pressing member has ribs to fit the vertical grooves in the slot in the slide block, so that it itself is guided vertically.

To enable different thickness of belt to receive clamps of correspondingly different spacing between their limbs, and yet to allow the slide block always to be lowered to the upper limbs of the clamps, the underside of the slide block may be recessed lengthwise to receive and to slide down the upper part of the comb-bar, which can then be made deep enough to receive the clamps with the greatest limb-spacing required for the thickest belt to be accommodated. Preferably, the sides of the recess fit the front and rear faces of the comb-bar, so that the comb-bar provides guiding location for the slide block.

The operation of the pressing member may be manual, e.g., by the use of a hammer. In such case, in order for the necessary force to be applied to the staples, the member should be narrow in width as compared with the half-length of the slot to contain the staples, and applied successively along that half-length to insert the staples progressively. The same pressing member, or a corresponding but plain-sided pressing member, may be similarly applied successively along the plain half-length of the slot to complete the compression.

The invention will now be further described with reference to a machine having a hammer-operated pressing member shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the machine, including a charge of staples about to be inserted in its slide bar;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective View of a wide U-sh-aped clamp for insertion into the machine;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a hammer-operated pressing member;

FIGURES 4 to 6 are front elevations of the machine showing three stages of operation; and

FIGURES 7 to 9 are sections of the machine, taken on the lines VIIVII, VIII-VIII, and IXIX of FIG- URES 4 to 6 respectively.

In FIGURE 1, a thick base plate 1 has inset across its front portion a two-part check of hardened steel, one check part 2A having its upper face recessed lengthwise at 3 and the other cheek part 2B having a plain upper face. The parts 2A, 2B each occupy one-half of the width of the machine. Two pillars 4 project up from the base 1, near its sides, and provide vertical guides for a slide block 5, of the same width as the base, the front of the block 5 being of built-rup character where it overhangs the cheek parts 2A, 2B.

By means of screws 6, there are secured to the front of the block 5 a plate 7, distance pieces 8 at the end of the plate 7, and a plate 9, so that a slot 10 is formed through the thickness of the assembly 5, 7, 8, 9, the slot extending in the lengthwise direction of the cheek parts 2A, 2B and lying directly above them. In the right-hand halves of the sides of the plates 7, 9 there are vertical grooves 11, to form nine registering pairs of grooves in the sides of the slot 10.

A comb-bar 12 (see FIG. 7) is secured to the base 1 rearwardly of the cheek parts 2A, 2B, its upper part fitting the width of a transverse recess 13 across the underside of the slide block 5. The comb-bar 12 consists of a back plate 14 and a U-shaped front member 15 the front of which is divided by vertical slots 16 (see FIGURES 4 and 7) to provide access to the interior space 17.

The nine pairs of vertical grooves 11 in the slot 10 receive a set of nine wire staples 18 (FIGURE 1) secured together by a slender wire 19 to form a charging unit. The bases 20 of the inverted U-staples span the slot 10 and the diameter of the wire is such that the legs 21 fit the groves 11, so that the charge can be pushed into the grooves and retain itself by friction, with the points 22 of the legs directed downwardly.

The comb-bar 12 has six of the slots 16 evenly spaced along its length, so that there are three slots 16 over the length occupied by the nine pairs of grooves 11 in the slot of the slide block 5. Into such three slots 16 are passed the three sections 23 into which is divided the base 24 of a U-shaped clamp 25 (FIGURE 2) formed from sheet steel. The limbs 26 of the clamp have each nine pairs of holes 27 located lengthwise in recesses 28 in the outer faces of the limbs, the holes 27 being spaced to correspond with the legs 21 of the staples 18; and the location of the slots 16 in the comb-bar 12 is such that the legs of one staple in one pair of grooves 11 are directed towards two pairs of holes 27 immediately in line with each other in the limbs 26 of the clamp 23.

A clamp 23 is secured in the comb-bar 12 by a locking key 29 (FIGURE 1) consisting of a handle mounted on a bar 30 bifurcated into a lower bar 31 and an upper bar 32. The lower bar 31 passes inside the base 24 of the clamp (FIGURE 7) between the end of the base and the slotted front of the comb-bar. The upper bar 32 ends in a hook 33 (FIGURE 4) to prevent withdrawal of the locking key when it is moved fully to the right to engage a stop, so that the key remains captive in the machine.

Between the pillars 4, the slide block 5 slides on a vertical stud 35 secured to the base 1, on which stud is screwed an adjusting nut 36 rotatable in the slide block 5, to enable the block to be raised and lowered with respect to the base by rotation of the nut. This enables the underside of the block 5 to be raised above the cheek parts 2A, 2B by more than the thickness of the thickest belt to which the clamp 25 and the staples 18 are to be applied to form a joint-half.

A belt 37 of average thickness is shown in FIGURES 4 to 9. The block 5 being raised, and the key 29 withdrawn, the end edge 38 of the belt is placed against the front of the comb-bar 12 and between the limbs 26 of the clamp 25 the base sections 23 of which are passed through the three slots 16 between the groove half of the slot 10 of the slide block. The key 29 is then pushed to the left to secure the clamp. A charge length of staples 18 is inserted in the grooves 11 of the slot (FIGURES 4 and 7).

The block 5 is then lowered by the nut 36 until it rests on the upper limb 26 0f the clamp 25 (FIGURES 5 and 8), so that the two limbs are held to the faces of the belt, with the pairs of holes 27 in line with the pairs of staple legs 21 in the grooves 11. The pairs of holes 27 in the lower limb 26 of the clamp are opposite the front and rear sides of the recess 3 in the cheek part 2A.

A pressing tool 38 (FIGURE 3) is then applied. The tool 38 consists of a stem 39 having a striking head 40 at one end and at the other end a boss 41 into which is secured a hardened pressing member 41, with three ribs 43 on one face and three registering ribs 43 on the other face. The member 42 spans the slot 11) in the slide block 5 and its ribs 43 can occupy three adjoining pairs of grooves 11 in the slot 10. A groove 44 along the end of the member 41 prevents contact of the end with the wire 19 of the charging unit of staples 18 (FIG- URES 7, 8, and 9) when the member 41 is used to press the staples down the grooves 11 so as to bring the points 22 of the legs to the upper limb 26 of the clamp 25 (see broken line position of the legs 21 and points 22 in FIG- URE 7). The member 42 is then partially down the slot 10, and its end rests on the bases 20 of the staples 18.

The upper end 40 of the pressing tool 38 is then struck with a hammer, so that the pressing member 42 drives the points 22 of three staples 18 through the pairs of holes 27 in the upper limb 26 of the clamp 25, through the thickness of the belt 37, through the lower pairs of holes 27, and into contact with the oppositely inclined surfaces at the front and rear of the recess in the cheek part 2A. The points 22 are therefore bent towards each other (FIGURES 5 and 8) in the recess 3. The striking of the tool 38 is repeated after moving the pressing member 42 into the next three pairs of grooves 11, and then into the final three pairs of grooves. The clamp 25 is now secured to the belt 27 by nine staples 18.

The slide block 5 is now slightly raised by the nut 36, the locking key 29 is withdrawn to enable the base sections 23 of the clamp 25 to be withdrawn from the first three slots 16 in the comb-bar 12, and the machine and the belt 37 are re-positioned to allow the base sections 23 to be secured in the other three slots 16. This brings the clamp 25 above the plain cheek part 213, in which position it is secured by the key 23 and the slide block 5 is again lowered. The pressing tool 38 is then struck repeatedly as its pressing member 42 is progressively moved along the plain half of the slot 10, so that the pairs of bent points 22 are forced flat by the plain cheek part 2B and into the recesses 28 of the lower limb 26 of the clamp 25 (FIGURES 6 and 9) to complete the securing of the clamp tightly to both faces of the belt 37.

However, when one clamp 25 has been applied to the degree shown in FIGURES 5 and 8, another clamp 25 and charge unit of staples 18 can be inserted, for the formation of an adjacent section of joint-half, and so on over the whole width of the belt to be provided with a joint-half. The pressing tool 38 is then used first to insert nine staples 18 and bend their points 22 to effect first securing of the second clamp, and then used to complete the flattening of the points of the nine staples that have already effected the first securing of the previous clamp.

The machine is easily portable for use wherever there is a belt to be provided with a half-joint, and is easily operated since only the application of a hammer to the pressing tool 38 is required for the piercing of the belt 37 and first the bending of the points 22 and then the flattening of the points and the compression of the limbs 26 to the faces of the belt.

Although the clamp 25 shown in FIGURE 2 is of a width to occupy the whole half of the machine corresponding to the grooves 11 in the slot 19, the clamp could consist of elements of smaller width to be located separately in the slots 16 of the comb-bar 12.

What I claim is:

1. A belt-fastening machine for making a joint-half consisting of U-shaped clamps having pairs of holes in both limbs and staples to pass through the pairs of holes and the thickness of a belt interposed between the limbs, the machine comprising a base, a check along the front of the base and presenting an upper face that is formed along half its length with a lengthwise recess to provide point-bending surfaces and along the remaining half of its length is plain, upright guiding means upstanding from the rear of the base, a slide block mounted for vertical movement on the guiding means and overhanging the cheek, means for adjusting the slide block vertically with respect to the base, the overhanging portion having a slot through its thickness and extending in the lengthwise direction of the cheek and aligned with the recessed part of the check, there being registering pairs of vertical grooves formed in the lengthwise walls of the slot over the length corresponding to the recessed part of the cheek, to receive the downwardly pointed legs of U-shaped wire staples of a width to bridge the slot, a comb-bar disposedly rearwardly of the cheek, with a vertically slotted front face to receive the base of U-shaped clamps to be laid with one limb resting across the cheek, and a pressing member of a width to fit the slot for the forcing of the pointed legs of staples bridging the slot through the pairs of holes in the limbs of the clamps and a belt interposed between those limbs.

2. A belt-fastening machine as in claim 1, wherein the pressing member has ribs to fit the vertical grooves in the slot in the slide block, so that it itself is guided vertically.

3. A belt-fastening machine as in claim 1, wherein the pressing member projects from one end of a stem, the other end of the stem being formed with a striking face.

4. A belt-fastening machine as in claim 1, wherein the pressing member projects from one end of a stem, the other end of the stern being formed with a striking face,

the pressing member being narrow in width as compared with the half-length of the slot to contain the staples.

5. A belt-fastening machine as in claim 1, wherein the underside of the slide block is formed with a lengthwise recess to receive the upper part of the comb-bar, and to provide sliding contact between the block and the comb-bar in the vertical movement of the block.

6. A belt-fastening machine as in claim 1, wherein the overhanging portion of the slide block containing the slot is formed by two plates and distance pieces between the ends of the plates to determine the width of the slot thus formed between the plates, the opposed faces of the two plates being formed with the grooves to receive the staples that bridge the slot.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,167,820 8/1939 Ziller 29243.51 3,101,481 8/1963 Neale 29-24351 3,116,487 1/1964 Sehick 227-147 FOREIGN PATENTS 858,292 1/1961i Great Britain.

0 WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

M. S. MEHR, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A BELT-FASTENING MACHINE FOR MAKING A JOINT-HALF CONSISTING OF U-SHAPED CLAMPS HAVING PAIRS OF HOLES IN BOTH LIMBS AND STAPLES TO PASS THROUGH THE PAIRS OF HOLES AND THE THICKNESS OF A BELT INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE LIMBS, THE MACHINE COMPRISING A BASE, A CHEEK ALONG THE FRONT OF THE BASE AND PRESENTING AN UPPER FACE THAT IS FORMED ALONG HALF ITS LENTH WITH A LENGTHWISE RECESS TO PROVIDE POINT-BENDING SURFACES AND ALONG THE REMAINING HALF OF ITS LENGTH IS PLAIN, UPRIGHT GUIDING MEANS UPSTANDING FROM THE REAR OF THE BASE, A SLIDE BLOCK MOUNTED FOR VERTICAL MOVEMENT ON THE GUIDING MEANS AND OVERHANGING THE CHEEK, MEANS FOR ADJUSTING THE SLIDE BLOCK VERTICALLY WITH RESPECT TO THE BASE, THE OVERHANGING PORTION HAVING A SLOT THROUGH ITS THICKNESS AND EXTENDING IN THE LENGTHWISE DIRECTION OF THE CHEEK AND ALIGNED WITH THE RECESED PART OF THE CHEEK, THERE BEING REGISTERING PAIRS OF VERTICAL GROOVES FORMED IN THE LENGTHWISE WALLS OF THE SLOT OVER THE LENGTH CORRESPONDING TO THE RECESSES PART OF THE CHEEK, TO RECEIVE THE DOWNWARDLY POINTED LEGS OF U-SHAPED WIRE STAPLES OF A WIDTH TO BRIDGE THE SLOT, A COMB-BAR DISPOSEDLY REARWARDLY OF THE CHEEK, WITH A VERTICALLY SLOTTED FRONT FACE TO RECEIVE THE BASE OF U-SHAPED CLAMPS TO BE LAID WITH ONE LIMB RESTING ACROSS THE CHEEK, AND A PRESSING MEMBER OF A WIDTH TO FIT THE SLOT FOR THE FORCING OF THE PRINTED LEGS OF STAPLES BRIDGING THE SLOT THROUGH THE PAIRS OF HOLES IN THE LIMBS OF THE CLAMPS AND A BELT INTERPOSED BETWEEN THOSE LIMBS. 